Friday, January 12, 2007

One of my New Year's promises was to eat more sushi. Really there are a lot of things I like... but I have steered away from 'serious' sushi. If you have ever been deep sea fishing and then watched the deck boys clean the fish on the docks at the Orange Beach marina~ that would steer anyone away from raw fish!

Spring rolls~or veggie rolls~ are a sushi type appetizer I love. They are fun and easy to make. It is one of those dishes that you can add a pinch of this and a pinch of that... what ever you have on hand. The rice wrappers are pretty easy to find at an Asian food store and store well in the pantry until you are ready to use them. This time I just used veggies, but I also like using cooked shrimp, squash, or avocados. It does take a little practice to get them rolled perfectly~ give it a try!

Spring Rolls8 rice wrappers

8 large shrimp

1 cucumber, julienned

1 carrot, shredded

1/4 cup bean sprouts

3 Tbs fresh basil

3 Tbs fresh mint

3 Tbs fresh cilantro

Prep by dicing shrimp, shredding veggies and chopping fresh herb leaves; set aside. Fill a large pyrex dish filled with hot water. Lay each rice wrapper into the dish of hot water to soften. Gently lay on a flat surface. Fill with veggies, bean sprouts, and herbs leaving generous edges. Fold in both square angles, then roll tightly from one angle to the other. Store in the refrigerator covered with a damp paper towel until ready to serve. Serve with our Thai Peanut Dip or a store bought ginger dip.

Peanut Dip

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

2 Tbs soy sauce

4 tsp minced garlic

1/3 cup hot water

2 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tsp sugar

hot sauce to taste

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, wisk until well blended. Serve at room temp. For thicker dip add less water.

We have often made a meal of just these spring rolls. They are so light, and packed with flavor. The best part is how fun they can be to make~ get your friends together and make a mess of them.Try it y'all!

12 comments:

T
said...

The first time I did these I was flabbergasted at how easy they were and how wonderfully good to eat!!! I've always had a hard time folding them: your pictures are very helpful. The peanut sauce is a real winner on them.

About Us

Our family owned the Irondale cafe for many years...or more like it, it owned us! This is the very same cafe that was the basis of the novel that Fannie FLagg wrote.
Bill grew up around the railroad; both my dad and granddad were rail men. I was an engineer with Norfolk Southern before coming home to help at the cafe.
Now I stay busy with WhistleStop Products, shipping to Mom & Pop's across the country. Sandi, my wife, helps with the business when she is not working at her 'real job', as a Nurse Practitioner. We are always working on new products, cookbooks, and recipes!